A former FBI agent said that ‘Today’ show host Savannah Guthrie and her family should be ‘upset’ over a blunder by Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos and his department in the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping probe. The 84-year-old went missing over three months ago, on February 1. She is believed to have been abducted from her Tucson home.
‘Nancy located’ poster
The Nancy Guthrie case probe created some confusion after a social media update from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department appeared to suggest she had been found. The post, which read ‘Nancy located’, actually referred to a different missing woman, Nancy Radakovich, but quickly went viral and sparked backlash.
Critics argued the wording lacked clarity and caused unnecessary distress, especially as Guthrie, 84, remains missing months after her suspected abduction.
Read More: Nancy Guthrie update: Sheriff Nanos breaks silence over ‘bombshell’ new arrest report
DNA evidence becomes key focus
Amid the confusion, investigators continue to examine crucial forensic evidence. The FBI has now received DNA recovered from Guthrie’s Arizona home, including hair samples, and is using advanced technology to analyze it.
Experts say the findings could be pivotal in solving the case. “Hair absolutely can make the case solvable so I’m really excited,” genetic genealogist CeCe Moore told NewsNation’s Brian Entin this week.
Ex-FBI agent questions handling of evidence
Former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer raised concerns about how the DNA evidence was processed. “The fact that they’re saying the FBI has this advanced technology, they would’ve always had it,” she said in a live video posted to X, platform formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday, April 18. “That should really irk everyone that the sample didn’t go [to the FBI] because they would have always had the advanced technology and expertise.”
Coffindaffer suggested the initial decision to send the sample to a Florida lab may have delayed progress.
Read More: ‘I know where she’s at’: Disturbing post about Nancy Guthrie sparks concerns on social media
She added that ‘knowing that [the FBI] had that technology, that should really have the Guthrie family and anybody who cares about justice for Nancy Guthrie upset’.
Timeline and investigation challenges
Guthrie was last seen at her home in Arizona on January 31 and reported missing the following day. Authorities believe she was abducted, noting blood found on her porch and surveillance images of a masked man at the property.
Despite weeks of investigation, no arrests have been made and her whereabouts remain unknown. Coffindaffer warned that the latest round of DNA testing could still take months.